Hi all,
I'm new here, first of all. second, i need some advice: my family and I recently (4-5 days ago), adopted an 8 week old kitten. he's friendly when you hold him,play with him and pet him, he eats, and uses his litter box, but whenever we put him down, he runs and hides. i know we should leave him be, but my dad is threatening to return the cat if he won't warm up to us. we kept him in a small room at the back of the house for the first two days, and then we let him in the living room, but because all he wants to do is hide, we had to confine him again. also, when he was let out into the living room, he never went to the litter box by himself. we have to take him to it. we had a cat years ago, and he was fine, but we don't know what to do with this one. can anyone help please? i really don't want my dad to return it.

Hi - One of the kittens we got a few weeks ago was exactly the same (it's very common) - I posted about my experience here:

Feeling helpless

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Basil & Sybil

thank you!

No problem! I was worried as well, particularly as Basil (the other kitty) settled in immediately. They're just like people, all individuals Some need a little more time to come out of their shell in their own time but it's so rewarding when they do - you know then that they really trust you!

Remember your kitten is very young as well - everything is new and strange!

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Basil & Sybil

I defininately know that. it's my dad who doesn't seem to get that. because this one hides so much, he's convinced he's a "bad" cat, and claims he can't like it now. it makes me really upset. i told him what i've found out from other sites, but he just doesn't seem to care. i'd hate to have our cat be brought back to the lady we got him from, but if it's safer for the cat to not be around my dad, then i can deal, no matter how upset i will be. i just wish this didn't have to be an option at all...

4-5 days isn't long and 8 weeks is a little on the young side to leave his mother and really you have bought in a kitten at the worst time of year. The kitten is just a baby, he has been taken away from his mum and siblings and everything he knows into a strange place with strange smells and probably a lot of coming and goings with visitors etc because it's Christmas - no wonder the kit wants to hide. It is not unusual at all - I know you can see this from the kitten's side but so should your dad - tell him to put himself in the kitten's paws!

All you can do is continue to spend some time with him and play with him, talking to him quietly. You all need to build up his trust. It's not a bad idea to confine him to a room or two at this stage for a week or so but you should all go in and spend time in that room with him; use some wand type toys to play with him; find a soft brush and try to start brushing him very gently - particularly around the head and whiskers - he may enjoy that and keep talking to him softly all the time. He will come around but your dad needs to put some effort into building some trust with the kitten - he is only a baby. If you put some time and effort in I am sure even in the next week you will see a big difference.

Good luck, keep us updated.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

thank you i'm going to do just that, and i'm going to talk to my dad later today. i forgot to mention something in my first post; the kitten was dewormed when we got him, and we were told to give him his second dose of deworming medication in two weeks. is it possible that this is contributing to his hiding? that he's still not feeling so good?

I wouldn't have thought so really - unless you noticed he has had diarhoeaa or been sick? All this little kit needs is a bit of time and TLC. He really just needs to find his paws; just tell your dad to give him a chance. He (the kitten not your dad!) should go for his first vaccinations at 9 weeks and then his second shot around 12 weeks so you can ask the vet to give him a once over then just to ensure he is in good health.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

the second day we had him we brought him to the vet for his once over. they said he was fine, but they were a little worried about his pot belly. but we have to give the cat his second dose of deworming in a few days anyway, and he's got a vet appointment on jan, 12. so they can tell us then if he's better or not. and no diarreha. he's going potty normally. today, my dad seems much kinder to the cat, so maybe he's realizing he wasn't being fair. also, we are noticing the more time we spend with him in his little room, the more he's not hiding from us, and playing with us. so hopefully soon he can go out in the rest of the house. right now we are letting him bond with my mom in her room (its connected to kittys room), so he can easily get to his food and water.

That's good to hear. Have you a photo of him you could post? We always like to see photos of the furries!

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving